Package banding machine



F. A. LYON PACKAGE BAND ING MACHINE March 21, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 26, 1963 FIG FIG 9 INVENTOR.

LYON

FLOYD A.

March 21, 1967 LYQN PACKAGE BANDING MACHINE E .U n 2 a i ii-d-miE5 w 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 26, 1965 March 21, 1957 F. A. LYON PACKAGE BANDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

A LYQM March 21, 195? LYON PACKAGE BANDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 26, 1963 0 6.|\L qalmu WW A Am E 5 L m 65 a INVENTOR.

FLQYD 1. LYQN March 21, 1957 LYON PACKAGE BANDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 26, 1963 am a 150 im 2 GM Es not 4 3 3E3 u 5% qfiw mtgk m @3% INVENTOR.

FLQVU 5 LYQN United States Patent Office 33%,839 Faten'ted Mar. 21, 1967 3,309,839 PAQKAGE BANDING MAQHINE Floyd A. Lyon, Brookville, N.Y., assignor to Halm Instrument Co., Inc Glen Head, N.Y. Filed Sept. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 311,794 2 Claims. (Ql. 5319S) This invention relates to banding means for packages or articles.

The invention generally comprises a frame, a package holding table and a vertical rotatable ring mounted around the table and package. The ring has a plurality of equally spaced tape storage rollers and a tape feeding gripper. The free end of the tape is clamped to the underside of a table mounted finger under the package. The ring then rotates around the package and pulls a band of tape around the package. The band is then sealed with a heat sealing iron and the tape is then cut. However, before the tape is cut, the gripper grips the tape. The gripper feeds the free end into the clamp position, the package is removed and the machine is ready for another cycle.

An advantage of the present invention, is that the packages may be moved through the machine with an inline motion, for instance they may be on a conveyor belt. Therefore, the present invention is well adapted for fully automated packaging.

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide new and improved package or article banding means.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved banding means of the type having a rotating ring feeding mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved banding means for a rotating ring feeding means including a plurality of storage rollers spaced around the rotating ring and means to pull the band off inside of the tape roll on said storage rollers.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved banding means having a rotating ring feeding means including a plurality of storage rollers spaced around the rotating ring, means to pull the band off the inside of the tape roll on said storage rollers, and means to take up slack on the inside of said storage roll.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved banding means which is rugged and inexpensive.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved banding means comprising, a frame, a package holding table on said frame, a vertical rotatable ring mounted around said table, a tape feeder mounted on said ring, a plurality of tape rollers equally spaced around said ring, means to rotate said ring, means to clamp said tape to said table, said tape feeding means being adapted to carry said tape around said package, means to seal said tape to form a band around the package, means to out said tape, means to grip the feed end of said tape before cutting and means to feed the cut end of said tape to said clamp for a new cycle of operation.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the method of operation when starting.

FIGURE 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the method of operation after several cycles of operation.

FIGURE 3 is a front view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG- URE 3 partly exploded to show additional detail.

FIGURE 5 is a detail view of the heater, clamp and knife sub-assembly.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective exploded view of the heater, clamp and knife sub-assembly.

FIGURE 7 is a detail view of the package holding table.

FIGURE 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the timing sequence of the various members.

FIGURE 9 is a detail view showing the tape take-up means.

Referring generally to the figures, the invention comprises a ring member 3 which is rotatably mounted on rollers 4, 5 and 6 which are mounted on the frame F. Mounted on the ring 3 are a plurality of storage rollers 7, 8, 9, etc. which are adapted to accumulate excess tape which will accumulate since the travel of the ring feed is greater than the circumference of the package. The ring 3 is preferably mounted in a vertical plane. A tape feeder means is mounted on the ring 3 which includes the arm 14 upon which is mounted a pawl 15 as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The tape is peeled off the inside of the storage roll which accumulates on the storage rollers 7, 8, 9, etc.

Means to clamp the tape are provided comprising clamp 2, which is mounted on shaft 29 as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6. Also mounted on shaft 29 are a knife member 317 and a heating element 16. 'I'hepurpose of the heating element 16 is -to heat seal the overlapping tape after the band is formed. The purpose of knife 17 is to then cut the tape.

The shaft 29 is connected to the gear 21 which is connected to gear 20 which is mounted on a shaft which mounts on its other end arm 33. The gears 20 and 21 are rotated by means of the movable arm 33 by means comprising linkage 31, 32, cam follower 32' which is operated by the cam 30. The development of cam 30 is illustrated in FIGURE 8.

The means for rotating ring 3 comprises a sprocket 27 which is driven by clutch 26 which is mounted on shaft A. Shaft B is driven by gear 24 mounted on the output of clutch 23, the input of which is connected to shaft A, connected thereto which mesh-es with gear 25 which is fixedly mounted on shaft B. The shaft A is driven by motor M as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

The shaft A turns the shaft B slower than shaft A due to the fact that gear 24 is smaller than the gear 25. The sprocket ratio between the sprocket 27 and the ring 3, the sprocket is chosen so that the ring 3 can rotate faster than cam shaft and make a complete revolution in, for instance, 225 of rotation of shaft B.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 3, the motor M drives the pulley 19 which in turn is belt connected to the pulley 22 of the shaft A. Shaft A is geared to shaft B by means of gears 24, on clutch 23 and gear 25, gear 24 being smaller than gear 25.

The operating cams 3t and 51 are mounted on the shaft B. The cam 36 actuates the cam follower 32 which is mounted on the arm 32 which is pivotally mounted on the crank shaft D. The other end of the arm 32 is pivotally connected to the arm 3:1, the other end of which is pivotally connected to arm 33. The other end of the arm 33 is fixedly connected to gear 20 which meshes with gear 21 which is fixedly connected to the shaft 29 shown also in FIGURES 5 and 6. Shaft 29 mounts the clamp 2, knife 17 and heating element 16.

The cut end of the tape is adapted to be fed to the heat sealer 16 area by pawl 15 on arm 14 which is pivotally mounted on pin 14' and spring loaded in a clockwise direction by means of the spring 14a. The arm 14 is adapted to be rotated in the counterclockwise direction to feed the cut end of the tape by means of the arm 59 which is operated by cam 51. The development of cam 51 and the movement of the arm 59 are identical and the timing development of the movement is illustrated in FIGURE 8.

The gear 24 is mounted on the clutch 23 which is adapted to be locked by means of latch 43. The latch arm 43 is adapted to be manually moved counterclockwise in FIGURE 3 by means of handle 42' on shaft C, in order to permit the movement of cam shaft B. Once the latch is in the counterclockwise position it is held in that position by means of cam 45 on shaft B for a predetermined time, which is more than one revolution of continuously rotating shaft A.

The motion of the ring 3 is initiated as follows:

The ring is held stationary by the latch arm 40 which engages a locking member 41 mounted on the ring 3. The latch is released by movement of the pin 40', FIG- URE 4, which is mounted on the hub 51) of the arm 51 The motion of the arm 59 is controlled by the cam 51. When the arm 54 is in full clockwise position then the pin 40 engages the projection member of the arm 40 and rotates in a clockwise direction as shown in FIGURE 3 thereby unlatching the ring 3. Referring to FIGURE 3, this is at approximately 45 of shaft B rotation.

Slack takeup means are provided which include the arm 71 which is pivotally mounted on the ring 3. Arm 71 is spring loaded by spring 72.

Referring generally to the figures, the package P is placed on the table 1. The ring 3 is mounted on the rollers 4, 5, 6, and so forth which are mounted on the frame. The tape T is accumulated and carried on storage spools 7, 8, 9, and so forth which are equally spaced around the ring 3. About ten such rollers are recommended to support the tape. The ring 3 has a sprocket 3a around its outer edge upon which is placed the chain 35 for driving the ring 3. The free end of the tape T is clamped to an extending finger of table 1, by means of clamp 2. The vertical ring 3 has a plurality of tape holding rollers or spools 7, 3, 9, etc. The tape feeding arm 14 is pivotally mounted on the ring 3 and incorporates a pawl gripping member 15 which is adapted to grip the feed end before it is cut, as will be explained. After the free end is clamped by clamp 2, the ring 3, and the feeding means 14 rotate counterclockwise feeding the tape around the package P. After the band is complete the ring stops and any slack is taken up as will be explained.

After all the remaining tape is accumulated on the storage rollers it is used up by continued operation without any other operations or apparatus being required. The excess is simply stripped off the inside of the storage roll.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show different positions of the apparatus, FIGURE 1 shows the position for initially connecting the tape and FIGURE 2 shows the position after several packages have been wrapped and two or more layers of tape have accumulated outside the storage rollers.

FIGURE 2 illustrates how the tape is accumulated and stored in the storage rollers or spools 7, 8, 9, and so forth. This happens because the larger radius of the storage roller circle pull 01f more tape from the supply roller than is used on the package. The tape is then fed from the storage roll on the storage rollers from the inside as illustrated in FIGURE 2 and that is why the takeup is placed on the inside of the ring 3. The throw of the takeup arm 71 is made large enough to takeup suflicient slack for the package which is desired to band.

The band is then. sealed by means of the heat sealer 16 and the tape is then cut by means of the knife 17. Before tape is cut, the feed end is secured by the gripping pawl member 15, mounted on the tape feeding arm 14. The package is then removed and a new package is placed in position, which may be done automatically, for instance, by conveyor belt means. The out free end of the tape which was gripped by the gripper member '15, is

fed by movement of arm 14 to overlap the position of sealer 16 and is clamped by the clamp 2 and the machine is ready for a new operation.

Each cycle is initiated by the operator tripping a starting mechanism which will be explained. Slack pick up means are provided for making the band snug around the package since the tape feeding means pulls out more tape then is required for the package, because of the larger radius of the ring with respect to that of the package.

More specifically, the tape feeder arm 14 is pivotally mounted by pin 14' on the bracket 3' which is fixed connected and is spring loaded by spring 14a. The arm 14 contains an off center pawl 15 which permits the tape to be pulled into the machine but which locks the tape before the tape is cut by the knife.

Pawl 15 is spring loaded by spring 15. The free end of the tape is then gripped by the pawl 15 so that the free end is in position to be inserted in the clamp 2 for the next cycle of operation. The arm 14 is operated by the rocker arm 50 which is mounted on the rocker shaft D and which is operated by the cam 51 on cam shaft B.

Since more tape is fed then required for the package, there will be gradually an accumulation of tape stored, on the rollers 6, 7, 8, and so forth. In order to band succeeding packages, the tape is peeled off the inside of the roll on the storage rollers and slack is taken up by means of the takeup means 70, 71, '72, FIGURE 3, which is mounted on the ring 3. Adjustable friction clip 56, FIGURE 3, may be added to provide tension on the tape feed so that the takeup means will take up slack around the package but not pull off any additional tape from the supply end. At least one layer of tape is manually inserted in clip 56. Clip 56 is similar to a Clothespin construction and is preferably adjustably spring loaded.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show the drive mechanisms. FIG- URE 4 is a side view of FIGURE 3 which has been expanded to show details. The shaft A is continuously driven by motor M via pulleys 19 and 22. The cam shaft B is driven via the gear 24 and gear 25 which is connected to the shaft B. The ring 3 is driven by a chain 35 mounted on the sprocket 27 which is connected to the output of the slip clutch 26 on shaft A.

The cam 30 on shaft B operates the mechanism including the heat sealer 16, the knife 17, and the clamp 2. These elements are mounted on the shaft 29 which is mounted in bracket 29. They are all operated by the same cam 30, by the means of the linkage comprising the arm 32 upon which is mounted the cam follower 32 which rides on the cam 30. The arm 32 operates the vertical arm 31 which is connected to operate the shaft 29 via arm 33 which is connected to gear 20 which is connected to gear 21. Y

The heater 16 and clamp 2 are spring loaded as shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 in the same direction so that the springs do the work, and they are released by rotating them with the cam 30 against the action of the spring. The members 2 and 16 are connected to shaft 29 with interfering pins so that they will operate in the proper sequence as will be described in connection with FIGURES 5 and 6. Scissor knife 17 is keyed to shaft 29 by pin and slot connection and held against clamp 2 by spring 17b.

The tape is inserted manually and thereafter automatically fed over the roller 71 on arm 71 on bracket 70, the takeup means and down around two guides into the feeder arm 14, and over the pawl 15 which is spring loaded by the spring 15. The feeder arm 14 is pivotally mounted on the pin 14 and is adapted to be rotated in counterclockwise direction to feed the end of the tape into the clamp 2. Arm 14 is spring loaded by spring 14a. The motion of the arm 14 is provided by the rocker arm 50 which is mounted on the shaft D. Arm 50 mounts cam follower 50a which follows cam 50 on the shaft B.

When the tape is being pulled around the package, the

arm 71 will depress to the dotted position 71a. However, after the band is completed any slack will be taken up and the band is tighted by the means of the spring 72 on the arm 71.

The arm 14 assembly is mounted on the member 3' which is fixedly mounted on the ring member 3 so that the arm 14 rotates around with the ring 3.

The ring 3 is held against movement by means of the long latch arm 40 which is pivotally mounted on the rocker shaft D. The latch arm 40 locks the ring 3 in the position shown in FIGURE 3 because it engages the stop block 41, which is mounted on the ring 3. The latch arm 40 is operated by means of pin 40' which is mounted on the collar of arm 50. When the ring is locked, the clutch 26 is continuously slipping.

The ring 3 will make a complete revolution during at least 225 of rotation of the shaft B due to the fact that the ring 3 is driven through the slip clutch 26 and the rotation of the ring 3 is controlled by the latch 44.

The development of cam 51 is shown in FIGURE 8 and is labeled movement of the arm 50.

FIGURE 5 shows a side view and FIGURE 6 shows a schematic exploded view illustrating the operation of the heater, clamp, knife mechanism.

The clamp 2 is mounted on a collar 2 which is freely rotatable on the shaft 29 but which is spring loaded into clamping position by spring 2a. Also, mounted on the clamp 2 is one arm 2B of the scissors.

The other part of the scissors namely knife 17 is mounted on the collar 17 which is keyed to the shaft 29 by the means of the pin 17a.

The heater bar 16 is mounted on the collar 16 which is freely rotatably on the shaft 29 and is also spring loaded into upward position by the means of the spring 16a.

Note, that the clamp and the heater pressure is applied by the springs. The clamp 2 is retracted by means of the right angle pin 61 on shaft 29 contacting the pin 2C in the collar 2 and rotating the clamp in downward open position. The heater bar is similarly actuated by the pin 16b in the collar 16' which is acted upon the right angle pin 62 mounted on the shaft 29. The shaft mounted pins are spaced and located on shaft 29 according to the desired cycle position of operation. Pin 16b is located so as to move arm 16 out of the tape path when in open position.

The operation is as follows:

As the shaft 29 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 63, the pin 61 falls away from the pin 2C and allows the clamp 2 to be raised to clamp position by means of the spring 2a. The clamping takes place when the axis of the arm 33 lies along the line 57 in FIGURE 5.

The arm 33 stays in clamp position during the winding of the band. The arm 33 is then pushed up by means of the arm 31 and when the axis of arm 33 lies along the line 59, FIGURE 5, at which point the pin 62 falls away from the pin 16b on the heater 16 allowing the heat bar to raise and seal the tape. Thereafter, the axis of the arm 33 rises to the position of line 60 during which rise the scissors knife 17 passes the fixed knife 21) and cuts the tape.

Referring to FIGURE 7, there is shown a detail view of the table 1 upon which the package P is placed against the side stop 1 and centered over the tape T. A large slot is provided between the portions 1 and 1a of the table in order to permit the tape T to be wrapped around the package. Portion 1a of the table 1 extends into the area which is surrounded by ring 3. The table 1 has an extending finger 117 under which is mounted the clamp 2, the heater 16 and the knife 17, as previously described. The clamp 2 clamps the free end of the tape T between itself and the underside of the table finger 1b. After the package is handed it is pushed off the table finger 1b manually or by means not shown. The member 1a is in a position to allow clearance for this movement.

FIGURE 9 shows typical means for feeding the tape into the apparatus of FIGURE 3. The tape is fed from a supply roll 65 and passes around idler roller'66, driven roller 67, and idler rollers 68, 6?, 54 and 55. The idler rollers 69 and 55 are mounted on the arm 59 which is pivotally mounted on pin 73. A cam 74 is fixedly mounted on the arm 59 and is adapted to close the micro-switch 75 when the arm 59 drops to a certain point. The microswitch 75 then operates the motor 76 which is connected to the driven roller 67. Therefore, the tape is fed to the ring without any loading.

The operation of the device will be described in connection with the cam timing diagram, FIGURE 8, from which the cam shapes are developed.

The tape T is first inserted in the machine as shown in FIGURE 3 and fed through the tape feeding arm 14 on top of the pawl 15. The package P is then inserted in the table 1 against the side stop 1' which is located so that it will not interfere with the tape when it is pulled around.

The apparatus is started by moving the handle .2 and shaft C counterclockwise in FIGURE 3. This disengages the arm 43 from the dog 44 on the clutch 23 and permits one cycle of operation. The arm 43 holds the arm 43 out of contact with the dog 44 by means of the cam 45, during a portion of the cycle, as shaft A rotates faster than the shaft B.

Referring to FIGURE 8 which shows360 motion of shaft B, the cam 51 causes the arm 50 and arm 14 to feed the tape at approximately 20 in FIGURE 8. At the same time the cam 30 closes the clamp 2 is at 22 /2 The clamp then remains closed until the end of the cycle and arm 50 retracts.

Additional movement of the arm 50 and cam 51 causes the pin 40' at 45 to move the locking arm 40 clockwise in FIGURE 3, disengaging it from the stop block 41 on the ring 3. This permits the ring 3 to be driven from the shaft A through the slip clutch 26 via sprocket 27 and chain 35.

The ring 3 then rotates counterclockwise 360 pulling the tape around the package P which takes until approximately 225 of the cycle shown in FIGURE 8, at which time the band is completely wrapped around the package. Further movement of the cam 30 linkage will cause the heat sealer 16 to rise at approximately 220 to 250. In order to seal the tape the temperature of the heat sealer iron is adjusted for the particular plastic tape in a conventional manner and means for adjusting the temperature are preferably provided.

At about 270 further movement of the cam 30 linkage causes the scissor knife 17 to rise and cut the supply end of the tape from the seal. Further movement of the cam 30 linkage opens the clamp 2.

I claim:

1. Banding means comprising,

a frame,

a package holding table on said frame,

a vertical rotatable ring mounted around said table,

means to rotate said ring,

a tape feeder mounted on said ring,

a plurality of tape rollers equally spaced around said ring,

means to clamp the end of said tape to said table,

said tape feeding means being adapted to carry said tape around said package,

means to take up slack in said tape caused by overtravel of said tape feeding means,

means to seal said tape to form a band around said package,

means to out said tape,

means to grip said tape before cutting,

and means to feed the cut end of said tape to said clamp.

2. Banding means comprising,

a frame,

a package holding table on said frame,

a vertical ring rotatably mounted around said table,

means connected to rotate said ring,

a tape feeder pivotally mounted on said ring,

a plurality of tape rollers equally spaced around said ring outside said tape feeder.

0am operated means to clamp the end of said tape on said frame,

said tape feeding means being adapted to carry said tape around said package,

cam operated means to fasten said tape to form a band around said package,

cam operated knife means to cut said tape,

pawl means on said tape feeder to grip the end of said tape before cutting,

cam operated means to feed cut end of said tape to said ol'amp,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Gibbons 53198 Ripley 53-198 Broadhead et al. 53198 Kobylanski et a1 53-198 15 GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, 1a., Primary Examiner. 

1. BANDING MEANS COMPRISING, A FRAME, A PACKAGE HOLDING TABLE ON SAID FRAME, A VERTICAL ROTATABLE RING MOUNTED AROUND SAID TABLE, MEANS TO ROTATE SAID RING, A TAPE FEEDER MOUNTED ON SAID RING, A PLURALITY OF TAPE ROLLERS EQUALLY SPACED AROUND SAID RING, MEANS TO CLAMP THE END OF SAID TAPE TO SAID TABLE, SAID TAPE FEEDING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO CARRY SAID TAPE AROUND SAID PACKAGE, MEANS TO TAKE UP SLACK IN SAID TAPE CAUSED BY OVERTRAVEL OF SAID TAPE FEEDING MEANS, MEANS TO SEAL SAID TAPE TO FORM A BAND AROUND SAID PACKAGE, MEANS TO CUT SAID TAPE, MEANS TO GRIP SAID TAPE BEFORE CUTTING, 